13 NISAN 5775 • APRIL 2, 2015 • VOLUME XXXIV, NUMBER 7 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY
Jewish Foundation of Central New York funds Epstein students’ trip to Israel By Cantor Paula Pepperstone Participants in Syracuse’s first “Teen Taste of Israel” trip returned home on February 22 after what they declared a “wonderful” nine-day tour of Israel. Eleven ninth-grade students from the Rabbi Jacob H. Epstein High School of Jewish Studies and three chaperones participated in the trip, which was funded by an endowment fund of the Jewish Foundation of Central New York. Students said that highlights included swimming in the Dead Sea; deepening relationships with others on the trip; visiting the Kotel; riding camels in the Negev; climbing Masada; experiencing hail and snow in Jerusalem; participating in a snowball fight in the Old City; and visiting the Yitzchak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. Student Michale Bess Schueler said, “The trip has inspired me in so many ways. I realized that I wanted to be involved in Judaic studies. I had never really understood what I meant when I said, ‘I’m Jewish’ until I stood in front of the [Western] Wall that had meant so much to
my ancestors. I now plan to be a Jewish advocate and help others experience what I did at the Kotel.” Ninth-grade student Rebecca Teitelbaum said, “I really appreciate the donation that allowed us to travel to Israel. It was truly an amazing and meaningful experience. It allowed me to get in touch with my Jewish heritage on a more visceral level. This trip truly changed my life.” The students, parents, staff and board of the Epstein School expressed their gratitude to the Syracuse Jewish community’s donors who made the trip possible. Participant Zachary Cooper said, “It is an experience we will never forget.” To become a donor for future Teen Taste of Israel trips, contact Linda Alexander at the Jewish Foundation of Central New York at LAlexander@JewishFoundationCNY.org. To learn more about the Epstein School and how teenagers can join a future trip, contact Cantor Paula Pepperstone, the director of the Rabbi Jacob H. Epstein High School of Jewish Studies, at EpsteinCNY@gmail.com.
Students of the Rabbi Jacob H. Epstein High School of Jewish Studies, chaperones and Cantor Paula Pepperstone, the school’s director, visited the Kotel, the Western Wall, in Jerusalem on the recent “Teen Taste of Israel” trip, which was funded by the Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York.
Turkish synagogue to reopen
(JTA) – The Great Synagogue of Edirne in Turkey will reopen following a five-year government-sponsored restoration. The synagogue, which was to be rededicated on March 26, was rebuilt with $2.5 million of government funds that have restored its formerly collapsed domes and vibrant polychrome interior, Reuters reported. The restoration has been done despite the fact that Edirne, near Turkey’s western border with Greece and Bulgaria, has only one parttime Jewish resident. The resident, Rifat Mitrani, grew up in Edirne and married his wife in the synagogue, but he now only lives in the city during the week to look after his two supermarkets. He returns to his family in Istanbul for Shabbat, according to Reuters. The synagogue, built in 1907, was closed in 1983. It was modeled originally after Vienna’s Leopoldstadter Tempel, which has since been destroyed, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. Last November, the governor of Edirne threatened to reopen the building only as a museum and not as a synagogue, but he subsequently apologized
for his remarks and backed down from his threat.
2015 Federation paign Update Cam
To make your pledge, please contact Marianne at 445-2040 ext. 102 or mbazydlo@jewishfederationCNY.org. Goal: $1,000,000
We’re almost there!
$954,248
as of March 30, 2015
C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A April 3.......................7:15 pm.......................................................Parasha-Passover April 4.......................after 8:17 pm............................................................Passover April 9.......................7:22 pm.......................................... Parasha-Passover-Yizkor April 10.....................7:23 pm.....................................................................Passover April 17.....................7:31 pm....................................................... Parasha-Shemini
INSIDE THIS ISSUE “Above and Beyond”
Passover
Refuge in a zoo
Temple Adath Yeshurun will A look at a matzah baker in During World War II, some Jews screen the documentary “Above Ukraine and at the 90-year-old found a safe refuge hiding in the Streit’s bakery; and recipes. and Beyond” on April 19. Warsaw Zoo. Story on page 9-11 Story on page 3 Story on page 12
PLUS Health Care Greetings........... 9 Personal Greetings................11 Calendar Highlights............. 14 Obituaries............................... 15